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Epidendrum cristatum

Epidendrum cristatum<small>Ruiz & Pav. (1789)</small> (the "comb Epidendrum") is a species of orchid in the family Orchidaceae. It is known to grow both terrestrially and epiphytically at altitudes near 1&nbsp;km in the Neotropics from Mexico and Belize down through Brazil, as well as Trinidad.

Description

Epidendrum cristaum is an unusually large reed-stemmed Epidendrum, growing up to 8&nbsp;m tall. As with other members of the subgenus E.&nbsp;subg.&nbsp;Spathium, the stems of E.&nbsp;cristatum are un-swollen and covered by close, tubular sheathes which bear distichous, somewhat leathery, lanceolate leaves (up to 3&nbsp;cm long by 4&nbsp;cm wide) on the upper part of the stem. The terminal paniculate inflorescence grows through several enlarged spathes, arranged in a fan, which cover the peduncle. The yellow-green flowers often have purple-brown markings. The oblong convex obtuse sepals can grow up to 2.8&nbsp;cm long, slightly longer than the linear petals. The lip is adnate to the column to its apex with a shape that resembles a comb.

The diploid chromosome number of E.&nbsp;cristatum has been determined as 2n&nbsp;=&nbsp;40, the haploid chromosome number as n&nbsp;=&nbsp;20.

Synonymy and homonymy

The synonym Epidendrum tigrinum <small>Sessé & Moç. (1894)</small> is a homonym of Epidendrum tigrinum <small>Linden ex Lindl. (1846)</small>, which has been renamed Prosthechea tigrina.

References

External links